MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — Education Savings Accounts have been a hot topic in the Texas State legislature for years. After the narrow majority of the Texas House signed on in support of the voucher bill in February, Reporter Dominique Leh got input from our community on how the voucher program could affect local families.
- Parents like Katie Muñoz believe education savings accounts (vouchers) can provide more options for their children’s education, primarily as she seeks affordable private schooling for her son, Ethan.
- Vouchers could alleviate the financial burden of tuition and supplies, which Muñoz believes would have positively impacted her family's educational expenses during her homeschooling experience.
- While there is enthusiasm for school choice, many worry that diverting public funds to private education could harm public schools, raising questions about equitable access to quality education.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“I love that it gives us parents a lot of options for our children, it gives us the ability where we want them to go,” Muñoz said.
School choice has been up for debate in the Texas State Legislature for years.
With many fearing that it passes, public schools could see less funding.
Our 25 News team posted this on Facebook, and several of our neighbors left comments against the bill.
However, some parents believe that education savings accounts could benefit some families.
“The vouchers give us that opportunity to be able to look at things that we probably wouldn’t have been able to look at in the first place,” Muñoz said.
25 News reporter Dominique Leh spoke with Katie Muñoz, the mom of four-year-old Ethan. Right now, she’s trying to figure out where to send her son to school.
“We are setting the state for his education. We have his next 12 years that we’ll have to think about, and we want the best place for that education,” she said.
She would like Ethan to attend a private school, but tells me they can get pricey.
“These vouchers would pay for most of, if not all, the whole school year for us, and that is helpful when we have to consider things, like uniforms, school supplies,” said Muñoz.
Muñoz is speaking from experience. She was homeschooled as a child and tells me her family had to pay for everything, like supplies, out of pocket.
“I think these vouchers would have made it easier for them to afford that, putting more towards maybe my college, when I graduated,” she said.
According to the senate, the state plans to have enough public funding for up to 100,000 Texas students to pay for these private education services.
“We want our kids to have the best education, but I do understand that it comes at a price, that money comes from somewhere,” Muñoz said.
Again, the state plans to fund 100,000 students, and 80 percent of the funding would be allocated to lower-income families. In previous coverage of this bill, local school districts like Waco and Midway ISD are for transparency and accountability with this bill.
